Laurent Mekies is realising Christian Horner was right all along about how to beat McLaren

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Max Verstappen joked in the press conference before the United States Grand Prix that McLaren were ‘definitely’ favouring Lando Norris. This came after weeks of furious debate around the top two in the standings.

As he left the room, Verstappen said ‘there’s a headline’. He knew the remark, even though it was made in jest, would increase the pressure on McLaren.

Speaking to Viaplay during the weekend, Helmut Marko said Red Bull are making McLaren ‘nervous’. Their attempts to destabilise the constructors’ champions seem to be ‘working’.

Prior to the race, Red Bull removed Lando Norris’ grid tape, denying him the reference point he likes to use for his starts. This move earned them a fine (for a breach of pre-race procedure) and some negative headlines, but it adds to the impression that they’re playing deliberate mind games.

Laurent Mekies may now be sensing McLaren’s vulnerability to mind games

Laurent Mekies is different from Christian Horner in many ways. He comes from an engineering background, rather than being an ex-driver, and this has informed his methods for running the team.

As an individual, he seems determined to avoid controversy and focus on his job. But it’s noteworthy that Red Bull have started using some underhand tactics again under his leadership.

Mekies may be realising that they can be effective, particularly against a team like McLaren, who haven’t had a drivers’ champion since 2008, long before almost all of their employees had joined.

• READ MORE: Red Bull think Lando Norris is about to face the same restriction as Max Verstappen’s teammates

This inexperience may explain McLaren’s evident vulnerability. The two McLaren drivers crashed out of the Sprint race last Saturday and then toiled in the race.

Though Norris was the lead driver ahead of a struggling Piastri, he spent most of his race trying to pass Charles Leclerc when he appeared to have the pace to challenge Verstappen.

How Christian Horner’s villain persona upset the Red Bull hierarchy

Horner would be proud of some of Red Bull’s recent machinations. As noted by Motorsport Italy, the team used to obstruct Mercedes in the pit lane during the 2021 season by refusing to move their cables – though this went both ways.

And a source told BBC Sport that Sunday’s race wasn’t the ‘first time’ that Red Bull had removed the grid tape used by their ‘closest competitor’.

Red Bull’s ownership didn’t like Horner’s feuds with Zak Brown and Toto Wolff, but the Briton clearly felt he could unsettle his competitors by going on the offensive in the press.

Horner’s ‘pantomime baddie’ image in Drive to Survive didn’t sit well with the team hierarchy, either.

This isn’t Mekies’ style, but he too may be realising that when two teams are so close on track, there are merits to waging a psychological war.